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  1. NatJ

    Ameraucana Roosters and Egg Color

    Actually it was answering the question that was asked: "If the Ameraucana rooster mates with a leghorn, what color will the offspring’s eggs be?" As regards the question you are asking: A hen lays the same color eggs whether she mates with a rooster, or a different rooster, or no rooster at...
  2. NatJ

    Pendulum sexing experiment.

    Do you have a link to that study? I read one that claimed to prove that egg shape predicts sex, but didn't really prove anything: they started by knowing what sex chicks came from which eggs, then had a computer use that information to make a model, then found that the model was correct about...
  3. NatJ

    Taking in house chickens

    For those temperatures, and considering that the chickens are Silkies and one has a naked neck: Silkie feathers do blow around more easily than other feathers. I probably would make sure their sleeping area is draft-free (as in, no breezes strong enough to ruffle the Silkie feathers). This does...
  4. NatJ

    Taking in house chickens

    What temperatures do you expect to have? If you do provide heat, make sure they have plenty of space to get away from the heat. Chickens often transition themselves much faster than people expect, when the chickens are already fully feathered and they are given a choice about seeking heat or...
  5. NatJ

    Baby Leghorn

    That comb would be making me nervous, too, but I think you will just have to wait and see. Leghorns tend to mature fast, so if you do have a male, he will probably be really obvious before too much longer. Maybe post photos in another week or two, and see how much it has changed at that time.
  6. NatJ

    Sourdough Hens

    I've seen a few posts from someone in Montana, saying that feathered feet actually do seem to protect their chickens from frostbite. From January of 2022: More details, in February of 2022: And an update in April of 2024: I have a personal dislike of feathered feet because they get...
  7. NatJ

    European Fibro Meat Bird Project

    Since they have already learned some things about what is edible, they might be able to learn more. But yes, I can see why you would want to be a bit careful with what you offer them, given the time & effort you have already put into these birds. Unfortunately not me :( I got the impression...
  8. NatJ

    European Fibro Meat Bird Project

    Not really. Although I can say that at great length... :D Most of the time it is safe enough to let the chickens make their own choices about what to eat. That means you usually don't have to worry much about what plants are in the pasture, or what food scraps you offer the chickens. It is...
  9. NatJ

    Marans genetic and how to breed them to SOP

    In that case, no problem :)
  10. NatJ

    Things you wish you could say

    Oh, is that a trash can? I never can figure out what the little symbols mean. (I actually do know about the trash can in shopping carts, but I have been badly confused by lots of different icons over the years, especially because it seems like every website and every program have their own...
  11. NatJ

    Any guesses on his breeding

    Crossing a Silkie with a Brahma or a Cochin can give chicks with light skin. Crossing a Silkie with anything else can give normal feathers rather than silkie-type feathers. Letting the mixes cross for another generation or two can further mix up the traits.
  12. NatJ

    Hardware Cloth - How Far Up Run and Run Floor?

    I think covering the run with hardware cloth, and putting a good apron outside of it, is probably all you need to do. But if that doesn't work, if you decide you really want to cover the floor of the run with something, you could use concrete pavers and then put dirt and/or shavings on top...
  13. NatJ

    Change of plans

    I had a hen & her daughter that did that once, too. It really surprised me the first time I saw it, but they just kept doing it and I eventually quit thinking about it. I have no idea at what point the pullet stopped keeping her mother company in the nestbox.
  14. NatJ

    Marans genetic and how to breed them to SOP

    Maybe I don't quite understand what you are saying here. Why would a "breeding program" be more cruel than any other time someone hatches chicks and eats some chickens? To me, whether it is cruel would be determined by what kind of care the chickens receive, and how they are killed, not by...
  15. NatJ

    Laying or not

    https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/ This article may be helpful. Basically, you look at the vent (does it look stretchy and large because an egg goes through it regularly, or puckered and dry and small?) And you feel for the points of two...
  16. NatJ

    Raising chicks in an empty 8ftx12ft coop?

    You might want to divide off an area with cardboard for the first few days or a week or so. This keeps the chicks near the heat source, and provides a bit of extra protection from drafts in their specific area. I would probably take apart cardboard boxes and tape them back together to make a...
  17. NatJ

    Unexpected chick colors

    Nice thinking! Have you looked at the combs on the black/barred chicks in that hatch? If the eggs you set were all from Buckeye hens, then all the Malines-colored chicks should have pea combs too.
  18. NatJ

    Genetic related wry tail? Or just previous environment?

    Now we know that is something to keep in mind when raising chickens: a small cage can cause a chicken to carry their tail sideways so habitually that it looks like wry tail. Definitely a thing to be avoided for anyone who wants straight-tailed birds! I suspect it would be most common in...
  19. NatJ

    Help with confusing chicken colors (should be sexlinked)

    Recessive white affects all pigment, black and red and all the variations of them. Dominant White affects black pigment (along with all the dilutions of black: blue, splash, chocolate, mauve, lavender, and so forth.) Red pigment is mostly unaffected. Examples would be White Laced Red or Red...
  20. NatJ

    Unexpected chick colors

    Interesting coloring. I can't decide whether I'm seeing silver in there, or a very light gold. Either way, it's not normal for Buckeye or Malines, and it's not what would be expected from a cross either. I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks as they get older, too. I agree, both about the...
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